13/12/2017  Happy Valley  Race 2

LAUGH OUT LOUD was slow to begin and then despite being vigorously ridden in the early and middle stages became detached from the field. BOLD STITCH was crowded for room on jumping between CLEAR CHOICE which shifted out and SKYRAIDER which shifted in after being bumped by SWEET HOME. In this incident, SWEET HOME became unbalanced. From a wide barrier, APPLAUSE was shifted across behind runners in the early stages. For some distance after the 1000 Metres, GRACIOUS RYDER got its head up when racing close to the heels of ZERO HEDGE. Passing the 900 Metres, CLEAR CHOICE shifted in away from the heels of GRACIOUS RYDER and became unbalanced. Making the turn at the 600 Metres, SKYRAIDER raced tight between CLEAR CHOICE and APPLAUSE. In this incident, APPLAUSE became unbalanced when bumped on the hindquarters by SKYRAIDER. At the entrance to the Straight, CALIFORNIA ASPAR and GRACIOUS RYDER bumped as CALIFORNIA ASPAR shifted out away from the heels of DEAL MAKER. CALIFORNIA ASPAR then raced in restricted room between DEAL MAKER which was commencing to give ground and GRACIOUS RYDER passing the 300 Metres, resulting in CALIFORNIA ASPAR having to be shifted to the outside of GRACIOUS RYDER passing the 250 Metres. In the early part of the Straight, DEAL MAKER got its head up and lay in and passing the 300 Metres became unbalanced. Passing the 250 Metres, SWEET HOME was brushed by BOLD STITCH which lay in under pressure. After this, SWEET HOME got its head on the side and lay in under pressure and passing the 200 Metres shifted in and inconvenienced GRACIOUS RYDER. Also passing the 250 Metres, KWAICHUNG BROTHERS was shifted out away from the heels of DEAL MAKER, which was giving ground, to obtain clear running. Then near the 50 Metres, KWAICHUNG BROTHERS was awkwardly placed close to the heels of CALIFORNIA ASPAR which shifted out. When questioned, Trainer A Lee stated that SWEET HOME had been ridden along to take up a forward position in most of its starts when trained by him and the horse to date had not been successful. He said from the horse’s wide barrier tonight he felt that there was an opportunity for SWEET HOME to be ridden more conservatively and obtain a position where it was comfortable and it was anticipated that this would be behind midfield. He said SWEET HOME had been somewhat disappointing in its failure to finish off its races strongly when ridden in a forward position and it was hoped that the horse may be able to find the line better if ridden conservatively in the early stages as it had previously, some time ago, finished off a race strongly in Class 3 when ridden from behind midfield. He added that unfortunately in tonight’s race SWEET HOME was not able to obtain cover and raced wide and along the Back Straight was allowed to improve its position towards the lead. Mr Lee was advised that his explanation would be reported, however, he must ensure that, wherever possible, horses are ridden in a consistent manner. A veterinary inspection of SWEET HOME immediately following the race found that there was blood present at the right nostril. An endoscopic examination conducted on SWEET HOME confirmed the horse to have bled. After the race, the Veterinary Officer reported that CLEAR CHOICE had a small amount of blood in its mouth. A veterinary inspection of CALIFORNIA ASPAR immediately following the race did not show any significant findings. MANFUL STAR, BOLD STITCH and CLEAR CHOICE were sent for sampling. <14/12/2017 Additional Veterinary Report>CALIFORNIA ASPAR, which performed poorly, was examined by the Veterinary Officer who said at that time there were no significant findings. CALIFORNIA ASPAR was again examined by the Veterinary Officer at the stables of Trainer A S Cruz this morning. He said at this time he noted the horse to be lame in its left front leg. Before being allowed to race again, CALIFORNIA ASPAR will be subjected to an official veterinary examination.